Who's The Girl?
by lyses1
Summary: While on holiday, Agent Pendergast encounters a young woman who intrigues him. But when chaos hits the hotel he is staying at, he quickly realizes she is more than just a pretty face. All he knows is that her name is Olivia. This 8 chapter tale will take you through their journey, as he discovers who this woman is, bit by bit, while she steals his heart.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter. 1**

Pendergast was seated at a corner table in the back of the restaurant. From his vantage point, he could see the clientele that frequented the decadent hotel. They were a motley crew of honeyed money and vulgar excess.

He'd wanted to dine at the table next to him which had a lovely view of the panorama of Roaring Forks, but every time he'd arrived a young woman of incomparable beauty had already been occupying the space. She'd been there the past two mornings, seated before he came down for breakfast and again each evening. She ate little and spent her time staring out the window, as if lost in thought. Whenever the waiters came to speak to her and she'd turned to them, he could see a deep sadness in her navy blue eyes. She never engaged the staff in any sort of excessive conversation and once they left, she'd return her gaze to the window. Occasionally, she'd pick up one of three books she'd have next to her, nibble on whatever meal she'd ordered, and immerse herself with a disciplined dedication that he respected. She read quickly. Just last night he'd watched her finish a book of French poetry before turning back to the view.

Tonight was no different. The young woman was already seated when he arrived. As in the previous days, she was alone. A glass of sparkling water was in front of her and an untouched bread basket. Her clothing was simple this evening, but immaculate. Cashmere top, cream pants, leather boots. She wore light makeup and her dark brown hair was tied back in loose waves down her back.

Tonight's books were a mix of pretentious classics-Wuthering Heights, Catcher in the Rye and Finnegan's Wake. The young woman had been immersed in Wuthering Heights and she'd been reading steadily for the past twenty minutes while he sipped his tea and decided what he wanted to order for dinner. A waiter strolled over and the young woman glanced up. "I'm ready to order." Her voice was cultured, with a northern accent that he couldn't quite place. "I'd like to try the Beef Wellington this evening. Could you recommend a wine pairing to go with it?"

The waiter was young, possibly a college student on break, and he stammered, spouting various types of vintages that she could try. It was obvious he had no idea what he was talking about.

The woman apparently understood that, too. She raised her eyebrows in exasperation and then shook her head. "That's okay. I'll just stick with water." She handed her menu back to him and returned to her novel.

Pendergast raised his voice slightly and called out to the departing waiter. "I'd like to order the Beef Wellington, as well. Though could you bring me a glass of the 2000 Vietti Barolo Rocche?"

The young woman peeked up from her book to glance at him. The corners of her mouth lifted in a slight grin.

Pendergast turned to her. "It's a powerful red from Italy. Silky with a hint of raspberries and firm tannins. An excellent pairing for Wellington in my opinion." He handed the waiter his menu.

As the attendant turned to leave, the woman piped up. "Waiter? I'd like a glass of that, too."

Pendergast smiled. "You best bring us the bottle."

The waiter wrote the order down and left.

The woman glanced at Pendergast and raised her brows. "A whole bottle? I should tell you up front that I have no palette for wine, though I'm trying to learn." She glanced around the dining room and then turned back to Pendergast. "I don't suppose you'd like to dine with me? It will be easier than tossing the bottle back and forth between our tables."

With a nod, Pendergast stood and slipped into the empty chair next to her.


	2. Chapter 2

p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"strongspan style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;"Chapt. 2/span/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"strongspan style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;" /span/strong/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;" "I'm Aloysius Pendergast," he said, extending his hand. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;" "Olivia," she replied, squeezing it back gently. She squinted and cocked her head. "Was your mother perhaps a fan of 15th century astronomy or of French poets?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;" Aloysius grinned. "I wish I could say, but I honestly don't know. My family delighted in unusual names. So, Olivia, what brings you to Roaring Forks? Do you ski?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;" Her eyes clouded for the briefest of moments and then cleared. "I'm on a bit of a … vacation," she hedged, saved from saying anything more by the sommelier who brought over their wine. Olivia watched, seemingly fascinated at the production that ensued with the presenting, pouring and tasting of the beverage. When Aloysius finally bade her take a sip, he concealed his amusement when she crinkled her nose. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;" "Are you enjoying it?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;" "It's… nice." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;" The waiter had returned with their meal. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span"Ah, the dreaded 'nice,'" Aloysius said, once the waiter left. /spanspan style="font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;""/spanspan style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;"I suggest you try it with the Wellington. I promise you it will take on an entirely different complexity." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanAloysius ended up enjoying dinner much more than he anticipated. Olivia proved to be intelligent, easy to speak with and laughed freely. They spent the evening discussing innocuous topics such as literature and philosophy and two hours went by fast./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;" As they drank tea and scraped up the remains of the restaurant's famed tiramisu, their conversation turned back to wine. "If you're free tomorrow evening, the town has a famed bar with some exquisite tasting selections. Would you perhaps… care to join me?"/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;" Olivia blushed and took a few seconds to consider his offer. Then she smiled and nodded. "That would be nice, Aloysius. It will be good to get out of this restaurant for a change." At that moment her eyes shifted to a point above Aloysius's right shoulder and widened ever so slightly./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;" Before he could react, Olivia threw herself forwards onto him and they both crashed violently to the floor as a halo of bullets erupted, shattering the wine glasses and tableware where they had been sitting only moments before. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;" Screams sounded from all corners of the restaurant as more shots rang out. Aloysius tried to rise, but Olivia had pinned him down and he was loathe to move her and perhaps put her in danger. After a volley that seemed to last forever, silence ensued as the gunmen reloaded. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;" "Aloysius," Olivia whispered, close to his ear. "Please stay down and remain under the table. You'll be safe there." /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanBefore he could respond, she pushed herself off of him and with a catlike grace and incredible agility, maneuvered herself swiftly around the restaurant until she stood behind the shooter nearest the kitchen./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;" Aloysius rose quickly and saw two more gunmen he had not noticed before. He removed his own weapon at the same moment the shooter in front of Olivia turned. The gunman aimed his weapon at her, but Olivia expertly kicked the pistol away with a front crescent kick and then launched herself at him. The other shooters started firing in their direction and she swung the gunman around, using him as a shield, and they both fell to the floor from the impact./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;" Aloysius fired back, hitting one of the gunmen in the chest and was aiming for the other, but frantic guests in their desperate attempt to flee, moved into his shot. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Olivia scramble on the floor, rise with a gun in her hand and fire at the final assailant. She hit him expertly between his eyes and he fell to the floor. For just a second Olivia/spanspan style="font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;"'/spanspan style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;"s gaze met Aloysius's and then turned away. With all three assailants now dead, she threw the gun to the ground and bounded towards the nearest injured patron./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;" The restaurant was in chaos and sirens could be heard shrieking from the speaker system and from the approaching police cars and ambulances./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;" "Can I help?" Aloysius asked, bending down to Olivia/spanspan style="font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;"'/spanspan style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;"s side. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;" Olivia had her hands pressed on a linen napkin planted firmly on a man's hip. The victim's heavily botoxed companion was dead next to him. The woman/spanspan style="font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;"'/spanspan style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;"s sightless brown eyes stared at the ceiling. "He's got an arterial wound and is bleeding heavily,/spanspan style="font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;""/spanspan style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;" Olivia said. /spanspan style="font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;""/spanspan style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;"Press this down hard to keep pressure on it until we can get him help."/span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;" "I ca..can't… feel my leg," the young man stuttered./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;" Olivia put her hand to the man/spanspan style="font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: inherit; mso-hansi-font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;"'/spanspan style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;"s cheek and her eyes softened. "You're going to be okay, you hear me. I promise you. Just lay still." Her voice was sure and confidant and the man calmed considerably./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;" And then she was gone./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;" Aloysius observed Olivia bounding from victim to victim and by the time the ambulances arrived, she had triaged all the injured in order of severity. He watched her help lift a patient onto a stretcher and race with the paramedics out the door. She jumped into the ambulance with them and seconds later the vehicle shot towards the hospital. The last vision he had of her was of the ambulance doors shutting, her beautiful cream colored clothing covered in blood. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;" As he stood nearby observing as the police identified the assassins, three misfit drug addicts looking to rob the rich, he thought about Olivia and realized that even after spending the last few hours with this surprising powerhouse of a woman, he didn't even know who she really was. /span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: 'inherit','serif'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; color: #1d2129; letter-spacing: -.2pt;" Not even her last name./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;" /p 


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